Global Arab Network | BBC Arabic links up the US and the Middle East to debate Obama presidency

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BBC Arabic links up the US and the Middle East to debate Obama presidency

- Gamal Ragay

Tuesday, 19 January 2010 16:34

On the day of the first anniversary of Barack Obamas presidency, BBC Arabic is mounting major multimedia programming, assessing his first year in power and looking at promises kept and those not delivered, domestically and internationally.

As BBC Arabic links up Washington, the West Bank and its regional hubs, the special day of programming on Wednesday 20 January across all platforms will start with early morning co-presentation on radio and continue throughout the day on TV and online with special reports, live injects and big-name interviews.

News bulletins throughout the day, on radio and TV, will include interviews and reports from the US capital and the Middle East looking at Obama's domestic and global policies. Online, on bbcarabic.com, a special page carries reports in text, audio and video, a Have Your Say forum and a wealth of fact files, archive material and a picture-gallery, showing Obama's journey to the White house.

Head of Middle East Region, BBC World Service, Liliane Landor, says: "Our teams have pulled all the stops to engage our listeners, viewers and our website users in conversation about this landmark anniversary. Across platforms and across continents - from London, Jerusalem and Washington DC - BBC Arabic seeks answers to the questions asked by our audiences and explores issues which matter to them. We are all geared up for a very special day of programming."

Former head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, Paul Bremer; Assistant Secretary of State, Philip Crowley; and Peter Walison of the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research will be among government figures and opinion-makers talking to BBC Arabic on the subject of the US Middle East policies.

A special edition of the BBC Arabic flagship multimedia interactive debating forum, Nuqtat Hewar (Talking Point) at 15.06 GMT on Wednesday 20 January, connects audiences in London, Washington DC and Jerusalem to discuss the US foreign policy in the Middle East with live audience participation, on radio, TV and online.

Anchored by the presenters, Samir Farah in Washington DC, Nour Zourgui in Jerusalem and Liliane Daoud in London, the live debate, Obama one year on - American foreign policy and the Middle East, brings together audiences in these centres as well as in Ramallah and Gaza, Baghdad, Cairo and Khartoum.

How do people across the region evaluate Obamas first year of presidency? Have the US relations with the Islamic world improved after his landmark speech in Cairo? What is his role in the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan? To provide audiences with balanced and objective answers to these and many other questions, BBC Arabic speaks to Arab-Americans, Israelis and Palestinians.

Starting on BBC Arabic television, the live debate culminates on BBC Arabic radio while also actively involving online audiences via the website, bbcarabic.com, inviting their views and comments. There will be contributions from listeners across the West Bank in Hebron, Jenin, Ramallah, Nablus and Gaza - where people listen via the BBC FM relay network, as well in Bethlehem, where audiences access the BBC Arabic programming via the BBCs rebroadcasting partner, Radio Bethlehem.

On BBC Arabic television, a special edition of Agenda Maftouha (Open Agenda) from Washington DC at 19.10 GMT on Friday 22 January will focus on how Arabs assess President Obamas efforts to change the image of the US in the Arab and Islamic world.

The Obama Special on BBC Arabic coincides with the launch of its radio programming on mobile phones in the US, via AudioNow. In addition to the BBC Arabic network channels, listeners in the US can now tune in to the BBC Arabic radio broadcasts for free via their mobile phones, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Global Arab Network

Extracted from "Corporate release"

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